


Unpredictable

by GintaxAlvissforever



Category: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | Higurashi When They Cry
Genre: Angst, Breaking and Entering, F/F, F/M, Gaslighting, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Spoilers, Suspense, Tataridamashi-hen, Toxic friendship, Watching Someone Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 20:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30145071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GintaxAlvissforever/pseuds/GintaxAlvissforever
Summary: Satoko watches Keiichi sleep. She ponders why he refuses to follow her rules.
Relationships: Furude Rika/Houjou Satoko, Houjou Satoko & Maebara Keiichi, Maebara Keiichi/Sonozaki Mion
Kudos: 10





	Unpredictable

**Author's Note:**

> I caved in and wanted to write since Gou got to the reveal and after Kai. Post Matsuribayashi gives me so much to work with in terms of how I imagine Keiichi and Mion growing up, but then their happy ending getting taken away as a result. There are spoilers in this fic and some headcanons.

It was settled. Keiichi's parents had finished their business early in Tokyo and would return home shortly. The one-on-one days with Keiichi were over before it even started. This was fine for Satoko. She could focus on the next part of her plan for this world now that things were following the course a particular fragment.

…Or that would be the case had not for a few things. Some things unexpectedly had happened when Satoko was traveling through fragments. She wouldn't have expected for her uncle to have a change of heart and attempt to make amends with her. It was fine. Satoko intended to use this to her advantage. It all just depended on if Keiichi and the others played their part.

However, Satoko knew in the back of her mind that everything going 100% to her plan wasn't necessary true. From the 100 years she watched, she had caught on that Keiichi was important to Rika. He was one of the main reasons Rika was able to escape her hellhole. At first, Satoko wanted to use his memories to repeat certain scenarios. Rika may have nudged Keiichi to do things that would prevent tragedy from happening, it was always up to the brunette if he followed through or not. Satoko watched it happened twice already. He chose to trust Rena even if he got stabbed as a result. He chose to give the doll to Mion for different reasons other than Rika hinting toward who wanted the doll the most.

Now, she noticed how Keiichi was kinder to her this time around. Everything played out mostly the same. Keiichi's parents were out of town for a bit leaving their son to fend for himself. The poor fool can't cook to save his life, so she and Rika came over to prepare food for him. From there, Satoko would continue to build her bond up with Keiichi until it influenced him to violently step in and end her uncle's life.

But the subtle differences were apparent. If Rika saw it, she didn't act like it, but Satoko did no matter how tiny it was. Keiichi does have an ego. He hates losing especially when Mion riles him up. Yet, Keiichi's humbleness caught her off guard. It shouldn't even affect her this much. Keiichi was always a kind person. Even if he succumbed to his paranoia, that didn't change anything.

It wasn't fair truly that someone as kind as Keiichi had to be subjected to the same hell because Rika couldn't see how wrong she was! If Rika weren't so stubborn, she would be okay with living through this fragment…just a bit.

That was why she needed to make things go perfectly. Every time Rika failed, her hope shattered and that was closer to winning. She waited for Keiichi to go back into his house and go to bed. Rika expected her to come home after checking up on their clumsy friend again. Satoko still couldn't believe how reckless Keiichi could be. He was still very much a rich kid. He needed to remember to lock the door and put the chain on his door. Only when he was paranoid did he take extra precautions like any normal human should. Granted, this wasn't Keiichi's fault this time. She had taken a key from another world belonging to the Maebara family. Satoko only needed it to increase his paranoia if needed. For this occasion, she just needed to make sure that she was able to take extreme measures if Keiichi continued to go off track.

Satoko slowly crept into the house and up the stairs. She grumbled to herself how creaky the house was. If Keiichi weren't so carefree now, he would wake up to the smallest of noises. The looper could count her lucky stars in this regard. She slowly creaked open the sliding door to see her friend sleeping soundly. Not only was he carefree, but he also had the weirdest sleeping position. If only Satoko could make fun of Keiichi for how he slept without drawing suspicion, she would. It was rather endearing seeing Keiichi have a larger pillow that he cuddled with. She was certain that that pillow isn't always there. Either he took it from his parent's room, or his parents decided to buy him one during the loops where they go out of town and send something down for him. Many of Keiichi's actions changed in each loop, so Satoko needed to jot down as many notes as possible.

Her eyes turn red as she stares down at her unexpecting friend. Keiichi slept so peacefully that it was difficult to imagine how he would react to see his little sister figure standing over him with an unreadable expression.

"Keiichi-san…" Satoko mutters out loud. "I haven't had a reason to test this syringe on you yet. Don't give me a reason to."

Yes, she has already tried it on two of her friends already. Using it on Keiichi was just another friend to add to her list of victims. She could do it right now and see how Rika reacted. Rika would despair if Keiichi went insane. Without him, Rika wouldn't be able to find the hope she needed to continue the loops.

Keiichi simply turns in his sleep. Satoko holds her breath wondering if her friend heard her talking. The small snoring noise told her she didn't need to concern herself with that idea. Eventually, he started mumbling something in his sleep causing Satoko to give a small sigh.

"You even talk in your sleep. How old are you again?" Satoko asks herself.

Satoko turns around feeling that she had given her warning to him unconsciously. If he's not awake, it won't mean much. Perhaps she was telling herself that. If she could forget Satoshi, she needed to prepare herself to use her brother's replacement.

"Mmm…"

Satoko froze. Did she take too long to leave? Did she need to start over again?

"Mion…"

Satoko frowned. Oh, he was just talking in his sleep. What the hell kind of dream was he having to sound like that? The looper waited to wonder why his tone came off as lonely. At his age, she would expect it to be an erotic dream at least.

"Mion…come…back…"

Satoko turns her head surprised. She expected it from Keiichi. He was the one that remembered his past mistakes the most. But was he having a dream of the previous loop where Mion gave her life to protect him…or was he dreaming of his future self when he was with her?

Satoko takes a step out of the room. It didn't matter if she was stepping into something personal at this point. She got the information she needed. Slowly, she closed the door on her friend before heading down the stairs. Instead of leaving, she chose to sit on the couch. The only sound was the ticking of the clock. If she didn't leave soon, Rika would wonder where she went.

 _Because I'm changing the world to what I want with Rika, I know I pulled Keiichi-san and Mion-san apart_. Satoko tells herself. She takes a deep breath trying to control herself. She is not having second thoughts. She closed her eyes and recalled small fragments of the first two loops she experienced. The second loop when she gave Rika a chance to redeem herself and that blew up in her face. In that time, she went to Keiichi more to ask him for help on the studying. The first time around, she remembered how she regretted not asking him for assistance. Keiichi was super smart and that continued to show in each loop she saw with him. Because she had more time with Keiichi alone, she was able to understand him better. She also remembered a short conversation they had for Keiichi's reason for deciding to follow Mion to the same university.

" _Dawww, Keiichi-san has a crush~"_

" _S-Shut up! I know Mion's been slacking off without me. If Rena and I aren't there, then who is going to keep her in check?"  
_

" _I feel bad for Rena-san. She just wants to be with her friends and you're here trying to elope with Mion-san."_

_"Garhhh! What you're doing with Rika-chan is the same thing with Mion! F-Friends stick together and look after one another! You are not allowed to twist this information or tell anyone…especially Mion! You got it?!"_

Satoko found herself smiling at the memory. Keiichi made her happy and strengthened her resolve to follow Rika. The only thing she felt bad about was how his efforts were wasted because Rika was always a liar deep down.

 _But it will be okay._ Satoko tells herself as she stands up from Keiichi's couch and heads toward the door. _Once I get my beloved Rika to stay, I'll make sure you and Mion-san end up together again. It's only fair with all you've done for me._

With that in mind, Satoko prepared the next step in her plan.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes!
> 
> 1\. I did look at the first season's episode 9 to Gou's episode 9 to catch the difference and I wasn't going crazy. Keiichi is nicer to Satoko in Gou after teasing her in the classroom. Compare that to everyone dunking on him in the original and Keiichi trying to cook versus being provoked into cooking. Given how Satoko is in Gou, she looks way happier when Keiichi praises her compared to the original. I did find it funny how in the original that Satoko and Rika really are passing by and in Gou, Keiichi somehow makes the fire even worse and Satoko just kicks him frame one.
> 
> 2\. Since Satoko repeated five years of studying into going to St. Lucia, I would imagine that some of the dialogue between her and Keiichi would be different. While the group is drifting apart, I would imagine that Satoko remembered some of the things Keiichi said and it might potentially influence her.
> 
> 3\. I'm still convinced that Keiichi surviving in all loops in Gou is not an accident. Keiichi was the guy that died in every timeline except the last time, so someone must be making it to where he's surviving. Either Satoko is deliberately keeping him alive or it's just luck on his end. Unfortunately, Satoko doesn't understand that its not just Mion that Keiichi cares about.


End file.
